Linda Bollea, the ex-wife of Hulk Hogan, has reached a confidential settlement with the family of John Graziano, who was seriously injured in a car wreck involving Nick Hogan back in 2007.
Graziano family attorney George Tragos told Florida’s St. Petersburg Times:
“Linda, she was obviously in a different position than everyone else. She was in California at the time of the accident and she did not sign for Nick Bollea’s drivers license as Terry did, so she’s in a different legal position.”
A confidential settlement was also reached with Daniel Jacobs, who was allegedly racing Nick Hogan at the time of the crash and was sued along with Hulk, Linda and Nick.
Hulk Hogan and his son Nick are still defendants in the suit.
Awesome Kong is not the only TNA Knockout parting ways with the company this week. A reliable source in TNA has informed us that fellow TNA Knockout Alissa Flash is also leaving.
Alissa (real name Melissa Anderson) reportedly requested her release from the company, she was not fired.
There are rumors of others besides Kong and Anderson requesting their releases but nothing is confirmed.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson spoke to Sports Illustrated this week to promote his new “Tooth Fairy” movie. The former WWE superstar stated once again that he wants to return to WWE to host WWE RAW and was actually supposed to host the show earlier this month:
“I do plan on going back and hosting. I was actually gonna go back this month, but the day I was going to host, I had to go to Mexico for promotion of the movie, so we had to cancel that,” Johnson said.
Johnson says his return to WWE, rumored to take place this summer, will be more than just a typical one-night guest hosting gig:
“I’ve remained close with Vince McMahon over the years, but here’s the key. It’s not just to go back and host. I don’t want to do that. I want to go back and host and do something special. I want to entertain the fans in ways they haven’t been entertained in years.”
Johnson appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS this week and spoke a lot about WWE and his time in pro wrestling. Johnson described the rush he gets from a live WWE crowd like nothing else in entertainment and said he’ll always be “The Rock.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross commented about Rock’s Letterman appearance in his latest blog:
“Loved it on Letterman when Dwayne said that he would always be “The Rock” which was not only true but had to make wrestling fans around the Globe feel good. I don’t ever see the Rock wrestling again but I know that he will host Raw sometime in the future to reconnect with his fans and to promote his latest project.”
Johnson also appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter where he spoke about his WWE return and had a funny interaction with former WWE announcer and ESPN host Jonathan Coachman. The most newsworthy item from the interview is that Johnson now says he “would never rule out” wrestling a match for WWE again:
“In terms of wrestling a match, I really don’t have any interest. I would love to go back and guest-host and entertain the audience. I could still do the physical things – Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow. I could still do all that and kick ass and have a great time. As far as wrestling a match, I’m not too sure if I see that, but I would never rule it out.”
TNA Knockout Awesome Kong, who got into a physical altercation with TNA backstage announcer Bubba the Love Sponge at Monday’s iMPACT! tapings, has given notice that she’s leaving the company.
The news was originally reported by f4wonline and was confirmed by Kong herself on Thursday afternoon via a live video stream on Qik.com.
Kong’s departure from the company appears to be effective immediately, and she said during the video cast that she informed TNA she won’t be attending the upcoming UK tour.
It should be noted that many TNA wrestlers and knockouts who have told management they are leaving have been persuaded into staying, but at this point Awesome Kong’s relationship with TNA appears to be off.
– Karen Angle, the ex-wife of Kurt Angle, was with Jeff Jarrett at several recent TNA live events. There is talk again of having her return to TNA programming with an on-screen role.
– TNA star Daniels took a shot at the company on Twitter with the following comment:
“Good news and bad news for TNA fans-> Bad: the six sided ring isn’t coming back! Good: next month we’ll implement two three sided rings!”
– TNA is taking their six-sided ring to the UK with them for the upcoming tour. No TV will be filmed while they’re there. For what it’s worth, some in TNA are under the impression that we haven’t seen the last of the six-sided ring.
– Several fans have wrote in confused about the three nights of TNA iMPACT tapings that took place this week. Instead of taping three sperate shows on three consecutive nights, TNA taped matches and segments for the three episodes out of order , so things should look better when everything is edited .
(Credit to F4Wonline.com for some of the information used in this report)
– Karen Angle, the ex-wife of Kurt Angle, was with Jeff Jarrett at several recent TNA live events. There is talk again of having her return to TNA programming with an on-screen role.
– TNA star Daniels took a shot at the company on Twitter with the following comment:
“Good news and bad news for TNA fans-> Bad: the six sided ring isn’t coming back! Good: next month we’ll implement two three sided rings!”
– TNA is taking their six-sided ring to the UK with them for the upcoming tour. No TV will be filmed while they’re there. For what it’s worth, some in TNA are under the impression that we haven’t seen the last of the six-sided ring.
– Several fans have wrote in confused about the three nights of TNA iMPACT tapings that took place this week. Instead of taping three sperate shows on three consecutive nights, TNA taped matches and segments for the three episodes out of order , so things should look better when everything is edited .
(Credit to F4Wonline.com for some of the information used in this report)
Sources within TNA are saying that Hardy has signed a contract, while friends of Hardy have said he’s told them he’s working without a deal.
The fact Hardy hasn’t appeared with TNA since January 4th could indicate that he hasn’t signed or committed to any dates.
In related Jeff Hardy news, he was said to be upset at the recent segments on WWE’s SmackDown where CM Punk used his name in promos to get himself over when Hardy was Hardy is not even in WWE anymore to defend himself.
Despite Hardy’s legal problems and his appearances for TNA, WWE still wants him back down the road.
Sources within TNA are saying that Hardy has signed a contract, while friends of Hardy have said he’s told them he’s working without a deal.
The fact Hardy hasn’t appeared with TNA since January 4th could indicate that he hasn’t signed or committed to any dates.
In related Jeff Hardy news, he was said to be upset at the recent segments on WWE’s SmackDown where CM Punk used his name in promos to get himself over when Hardy was Hardy is not even in WWE anymore to defend himself.
Despite Hardy’s legal problems and his appearances for TNA, WWE still wants him back down the road.
– As previously reported, the Undertaker is said to be in rough physical shape and is working through significant pain in recent months. However, talk of him retiring at WrestleMania 26 are premature. His physical limitations are already affecting how often he wrestles and what he’s able to do in the ring, but there’s been talk of Undertaking retiring for nearly a decade, so many expect him to continue working through the pain for months and years to come.
— Although Batista is currently advertised to be one of the 30 participants in the Royal rumble match, Rey Mysterio did a radio interview in Mexico last week stating that his match with the Undertaker at the Rumble will be a three-way.
– Speaking of the Royal Rumble, the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA, the site this year’s Rumble, is already sold out.
– As previously reported, the Undertaker is said to be in rough physical shape and is working through significant pain in recent months. However, talk of him retiring at WrestleMania 26 are premature. His physical limitations are already affecting how often he wrestles and what he’s able to do in the ring, but there’s been talk of Undertaking retiring for nearly a decade, so many expect him to continue working through the pain for months and years to come.
— Although Batista is currently advertised to be one of the 30 participants in the Royal rumble match, Rey Mysterio did a radio interview in Mexico last week stating that his match with the Undertaker at the Rumble will be a three-way.
– Speaking of the Royal Rumble, the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA, the site this year’s Rumble, is already sold out.
– Monday’s RAW did a 3.6 rating, with hours of 3.52 and 3.63.
– WWE has announced another NASCAR star will host Monday Night Raw, as driver Carl Edwards will host the February 8th Raw.
– While nothing is set in stone, WWE has already begun deliberating plans for the post-WrestleMania draft, according to f4wonline.com. Tthe initial ideas call for the splitting up of some long-term WWE Superstar partnerships and tag teams.
Earlier this month a 15-year-old WWE fan accused Randy Orton of assault after Orton allegedly spit gum in his face and swore at him outside a restaurant in Boston, Mass. The fan claims he asked Orton for a picture when the WWE superstar got hostile and “assaulted” him.
Orton posted a message on his website explaining his side of the story:
“Here’s what happened: I walked out of Kowloon’s Friday night around 12:30-1 a.m. with Santino and a police officer escort. As I was being rudely hounded for pictures and autos (I had a 6:40 a.m. flight through Minni to Lincoln, then a drive to Omaha, a match, a drive back to Omaha, then a charter to Minni, and a driver to Rochester for the next show the next day, btw), I was confronted by an older women who said: ‘Hey Randy, you spit on my handicapped son a few years ago at a show, what do you have to say about that?’ My replay…`So Sue me.’
Then I proceeded to my car, with Santino and the cop and drove back to our hotel by the Boston airport. I know I have been a bit of a hothead in the past, but I DID NOT spit gum and call names to any child. The women is claiming I called her son a `retard’ 3 times, and spit gum in his face. Come on people, even at my worst temperament, I would never call a handicapped child something awful like that. I’ll actually sign anything for any child with any disability.
I heard just today from WWE attorneys that this women filed assault charges against me 4 days later? Hmmm, oh, and what about the dozens of cops at the restaurant that were there for crowd control since there were over 100 wrestling fans there? Not to mention the cop that escorted me to my freaking car. I’ll be happy when this is over. I guess if I’ve learned anything from this, it is not to ever challenge anyone to sue me.â€
Former WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam appeared on the “Busted Open” Sirius satellite radio show this week and spoke about whether he’d be willing to return to World Wrestling Entertainment.
“If the conditions were right, then the conditions would be right. I can tell you for sure that I have no interest in returning to a full-time schedule like I did before. That’s not going to happen.”
RVD told the hosts that the WWE vs. TNA battle on January 4th was the first time in while that he had watched wrestling. He says Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart felt special, but the feeling didn’t last long.
“That was the first wrestling that I watched in the longest time, and it’s also the last wrestling I watched. I flipped back and forth with skepticism,” RVD said. “There was optimism. There was hope. The whole thing with Hogan and the change. It was a nice moment. I liked seeing Bret. I was comparing and about 45 minutes into it I felt like I was just watching wrestling and I lost interest.”
New Japan Pro Wrestling star Kazuchika Okada is headed to TNA Wrestling, according to a message on the Puroresu Spirit Facebook.com page.
Okada, who is known as the Young Lion, will wrestle in the United States for TNA to gain experience until he’s ready to come back to New Japan and be a top competitor.
The official announcement reads:
As for the 22 year old Kazuchika Okada, NJPW has high hopes for the Young Lion as they plan to send him to train and wrestle for TNA Wrestling. The President of NJPW Sugabayashi has stated that Okada is still young and that the plan is for Okada to stay as long as needed for him to come back to NJPW and become a real contender. So at this time it looks like he may be in TNA for the next 2-3 years.
TNA Wrestling is now telling fans who attend iMPACT! tapings that they aren’t audience members – they’re [unpaid] cast members – and they’re not supposed to react negatively against what they are seeing in the ring.
Prior to Monday’s iMPACT! TV taping in Orlando, members of TNA’s production team addressed the audience with instructions about “how act like cast members” in the filming of a TV series and not distract talent from “telling a story” to viewers at home.
“You are cast members here. It’s active, it’s TV-14, please, I know it’s fun to try to distract the talent up here, but they have to tell a story to two million people. You’re part of us. You’re helping us tell the story. Please don’t try and distract the story.”
The pre-show announcement comes the night after Genesis, when the iMPACT! zone totally crapped on Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s opening segment, the Band, Sean Morey, Mr. Anderson and many of the other “new faces” in TNA.
The director also told TNA fans not to “throw up gang signs” and not to chant “bullshit” during the show, as it just creates work for the production team – who have to edit the bad language out.
“Every time you come here, I want you to be excited. What I cannot have from the audience are curses, flipped bird, and gang signs that I may not understand,” he said. “Please, watch your language. Please, watch what you do. If I ask you to remove a sign, I’m not even sure the reason. Somebody in the truck saw something. We’re going to be watching you. When we see this violation, we’re going to ask you to move.”
UPDATE: The YouTube video showing the whole incident has been taken down after TNA Entertainment complained to YouTube.
– In a bit of great news for wrestling fans everywhere, WWE superstar Edge will be returning from injury well ahead of schedule. Edge is currently doing physical rehabilitation following foot surgery last year and WWE officials expect him to be healthy in time to appear at the Royal Rumble in 2 weeks. The plan is for Edge to wrestle his former tag team partner Chris Jericho and WrestleMania and there is talk of Edge showing up as a surprise entrant in the Rumble to eliminate Jericho. However it goes down, Edge will be back soon to start his program with Jericho.
– Many within WWE are very concerned about The Undertaker’s body and how much longer he can wrestle. WWE’s World Heavyweight champion is a shell of his former self these days, clearly in pain as he moves around and no longer possessing the agility that has made him such an impressive “big man” wrestler over the years. After the WrestleMania classic he and Shawn Michaels put on last year, its believed that Shawn Michaels will have to do a great deal of bumping around to save this year’s rematch from being a total letdown.
(Credit to PWInsider.com for the information used in this report)
– In a bit of great news for wrestling fans everywhere, WWE superstar Edge will be returning from injury well ahead of schedule. Edge is currently doing physical rehabilitation following foot surgery last year and WWE officials expect him to be healthy in time to appear at the Royal Rumble in 2 weeks. The plan is for Edge to wrestle his former tag team partner Chris Jericho and WrestleMania and there is talk of Edge showing up as a surprise entrant in the Rumble to eliminate Jericho. However it goes down, Edge will be back soon to start his program with Jericho.
– Many within WWE are very concerned about The Undertaker’s body and how much longer he can wrestle. WWE’s World Heavyweight champion is a shell of his former self these days, clearly in pain as he moves around and no longer possessing the agility that has made him such an impressive “big man” wrestler over the years. After the WrestleMania classic he and Shawn Michaels put on last year, its believed that Shawn Michaels will have to do a great deal of bumping around to save this year’s rematch from being a total letdown.
(Credit to PWInsider.com for the information used in this report)
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon is taking full control over WWE Studios after ending distribution relationships with Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox, according to an article from entertainment industry publication Variety. Will will now be able to “fully own and exploit” all aspects of its movies.
WWE has announced new partnerships with Samuel Goldwyn Films for theatrical releases and Vivendi Entertainment for DVD releases, but Vince McMahon says WWE has “learned a great deal” about the business to handle all aspects of movie making.
“This is an opportunity for us to completely control everything from the production all the way through to release,” McMahon said. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is.”
WWE plans to film nine movies by 2012. All filming will take place in the city of New Orleans, which will save WWE a bundle in production costs due to the city’s tremendous tax breaks. To crank out 9 movies by 2010, WWE plans to film the movies one after the other, with minimal down time in between.
McMahon also said one of main reasons they want to control the production and distribution of WWE movies is to better market each film toward their TV audience. He admits WWE hasn’t done a great job working with other distributors.
“There’s a much larger number that we’re not reaching,” McMahon said. “We have the resources, we just need to leverage all of it. There are so many different things that we can do.”
For more about the big changes at WWE Studios, visit Variety.com.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon is taking full control over WWE Studios after ending distribution relationships with Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox, according to an article from entertainment industry publication Variety. Will will now be able to “fully own and exploit” all aspects of its movies.
WWE has announced new partnerships with Samuel Goldwyn Films for theatrical releases and Vivendi Entertainment for DVD releases, but Vince McMahon says WWE has “learned a great deal” about the business to handle all aspects of movie making.
“This is an opportunity for us to completely control everything from the production all the way through to release,” McMahon said. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is.”
WWE plans to film nine movies by 2012. All filming will take place in the city of New Orleans, which will save WWE a bundle in production costs due to the city’s tremendous tax breaks. To crank out 9 movies by 2010, WWE plans to film the movies one after the other, with minimal down time in between.
McMahon also said one of main reasons they want to control the production and distribution of WWE movies is to better market each film toward their TV audience. He admits WWE hasn’t done a great job working with other distributors.
“There’s a much larger number that we’re not reaching,” McMahon said. “We have the resources, we just need to leverage all of it. There are so many different things that we can do.”
For more about the big changes at WWE Studios, visit Variety.com.
There’s major heat on TNA backstage interviewer and radio shock jock Bubba The Love Sponge after some pretty tasteless comments he made over the weekend regarding the earthquake in Haiti.’
As everybody is aware of by now, an earthquake devastated the country of Haiti last week and tens of thousands are feared dead. Bubba the Love Sponge is apparently sick of the United States efforts to help another country when we have so many issues at home to address and wrote on Twitter, “F— Haiti”
No matter how you feel about the United States’ foreign policy and its political stance on spending American dollars to help other nations in need, the comment was pretty foolish.
As a result of the “F— Haiti” comment, Bubba was told by TNA management to stay home over the weekend and not to attend the TNA production meetings headed into Sunday night’s Genesis pay-per-view.He was reportedly supposed to be part of an angle involving The Band at Genesis. Regarding that situation, he wrote on Twitter:
“here in orlando things r all messed up. Was suppose to be at the prod meeting @11 they called and said not 2 come???”
“I was suppose 2bpart of the outsiders deal and somebody over ruled hogan on it and I sat in the back all night about”
Bubba has since posted an apology regarding his Haiti comment:
“I am going to say this one time and one time only. First of all a real man sometimes has to take a step back and maybe look at something they said or did so that being said I would like to apologize for my comments regarding Haiti in the world of live radio that I operate. Sometimes u say things that u can’t take back. So I’m man enough now to say I’m sorry for those I offended.”
Too little too late? Let’s hear your Comments below.
— It was recently reported that John Cena is suffering from back problems, but he is also having issues with his neck, both of which stem from his surgery a few years back. With Cena one of the guys who legitimately travels on the road about 300 days a year, it definitely lessens the time has to recover from any ring injuries.
– WWE developmental talent Johnny Curtis has been working RAW brand events as of late. Curtis is cutting promos saying to look out for him on RAW soon and that he’s going to make an impact in WWE. Curtis has been signed to a WWE developmental deal since 2006 and has held the FCW Tag Team Titles in the past with Tyler Reks.
— WWE announced the release of SmackDown superstar Eric Escobar last Friday and it’ss expected that more releases will be announced heading into WrestleMania.
— It was recently reported that John Cena is suffering from back problems, but he is also having issues with his neck, both of which stem from his surgery a few years back. With Cena one of the guys who legitimately travels on the road about 300 days a year, it definitely lessens the time has to recover from any ring injuries.
– WWE developmental talent Johnny Curtis has been working RAW brand events as of late. Curtis is cutting promos saying to look out for him on RAW soon and that he’s going to make an impact in WWE. Curtis has been signed to a WWE developmental deal since 2006 and has held the FCW Tag Team Titles in the past with Tyler Reks.
— WWE announced the release of SmackDown superstar Eric Escobar last Friday and it’ss expected that more releases will be announced heading into WrestleMania.
The UK’s Sun has a new interview up with Big Show to promote the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Regarding Shane McMahon leaving WWE, Big Show had the following to say:
“Shane is a lot like his dad. Vince struck away from his dad and ended up buying him out. Shane is the type that wants to follow his own path and he is going to do fine. I don’t see Shane starting up a rival wrestling company, but he wanted to do some Mixed Martial Arts thing then maybe. If Shane wanted to work on a production company for movies then that can happen too. Shane is a very charismatic, intelligent man, a very driven person, so whatever avenue he chooses to go into he is going to be very successful at it. He cant ask for anymore than that.”
Despite the fact that Shane has been groomed his entire life to have an executive role in World Wrestling Entertainment, Show understands that Shane has to be his own man and do what’s right for him.
“We all work together and there are a lot of guys that really love him and he loves them too. But we are business men and grown men too. There comes a time where every man has to make a decision for himself and his family and everyone respects that.”
The UK’s Sun has a new interview up with Big Show to promote the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Regarding Shane McMahon leaving WWE, Big Show had the following to say:
“Shane is a lot like his dad. Vince struck away from his dad and ended up buying him out. Shane is the type that wants to follow his own path and he is going to do fine. I don’t see Shane starting up a rival wrestling company, but he wanted to do some Mixed Martial Arts thing then maybe. If Shane wanted to work on a production company for movies then that can happen too. Shane is a very charismatic, intelligent man, a very driven person, so whatever avenue he chooses to go into he is going to be very successful at it. He cant ask for anymore than that.”
Despite the fact that Shane has been groomed his entire life to have an executive role in World Wrestling Entertainment, Show understands that Shane has to be his own man and do what’s right for him.
“We all work together and there are a lot of guys that really love him and he loves them too. But we are business men and grown men too. There comes a time where every man has to make a decision for himself and his family and everyone respects that.”
– It’s said that Ken Anderson is currently working in TNA on a per-night deal and has not signed a contract yet but others are under the impression that he has signed some sort of deal.
– TNA’s live event scheduled for Paris, France this coming Sunday at The Zenith has been canceled. TNA was notified by French officials that the French Ministry of Culture along with French TV & radio will be occupying The Zenith during TNA’s originally scheduled time with a concert to benefit the people of Haiti. Fans who bought tickets to the show can obtain refunds at the Zenith box office.
– TNA has updated their website roster page since the other day and added Sean Waltman & Scott Hall.
– The fundraiser for victims in Haiti that was held by Awesome Kong, Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky and others in Pennsylvania this past weekend raised over $5,000.
